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We know studying isn’t always easy or enjoyable, but we aim to help you minimize that! This post will address our top curated tips on studying for tests and exams. If you missed part one on good study habits and tips for writing papers/discussion posts, be sure to check it out here.

Studying For Tests & Exams

Teacher Knows Best

Professors emphasize what they think is most important… The most valuable things to commit to MEMORY are the things emphasized in class. Sometimes you feel overwhelmed by all the things you could study, but your teachers already told you what was important. Go there.

Make Your Own Study Guide

Cross reference your study guide with other people for accuracy, but making your own study guide is pivotal to retaining information. A large part of the learning comes from doing the work yourself.

Write Notes By HAND!

This cannot be emphasized enough. Yes, computers and phones are nifty and save us a world of time and trouble, but nothing beats writing out study guides and notes in your own hand. Trust all those who have gone before you: you will remember better this way.

Enjoy Study Time

Trick your brain into enjoying study time by incorporating things you like. Try eating your favorite snack, going to a nice coffee shop, or listening to your favorite music. Then give yourself a small break every hour.

Freebie: everyone has their own taste in music, but research shows that classical/instrumental music provide the optimum level of concentration and energy for your brain.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

Don’t be afraid to ask professors questions in order to clarify assignments. They want you to succeed! There’s nothing wrong with making sure that you are studying the right information.

Work The System

If you have an open-book, at-home test, invest in a digital copy of the book. Use the search tool to look up keywords and terms. This really comes in handy, even when writing papers!

Exercise!

At least 20 minutes of cardio/day during finals releases endorphins and makes you less cranky and more productive. This is also great if you’re falling asleep.. Wake yourself up with a quick round of jumping jacks!

Use Mnemonic Devices

Acrostics and acronyms are a great way to remember lists of information. For example: TULIP, Every Good Boy Does Fine, Good Boys Do Fine Always, etc.

We hope these tips have been helpful!

Thanks for reading this list of study tips. We hope they help make your study time effective as well as fun. But make sure you remember that these tips aren’t the secret potion to good productivity; how much you get out of studying is largely based on how much you put in. Don’t overcomplicate it. As Amelia Earheart says, “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.”

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Studying — like anything else — might not always seem fun. Studying takes grit and perseverance, and it has to be done whether we feel like it or not. After interviewing students, professors, church leaders/pastors, and educational researchers, here are some of the top study tips that will make your studying both more effective and fun!

Study Habits

PLAN Time To Study

If you don’t make studying a priority and actually plan time to do it, it won’t happen! Dr. Elmore addresses this in his principle “Big Rocks First”; there are always a million other things you could be doing, so be sure to prioritize what’s most important and then build your schedule accordingly.

Focus Where It Matters

If you can get an A in one class even if you get a C on the final, then focus on another class.

This might make you cringe, but remember that doing your best often involves prioritizing where you invest your time. Look at your assignments objectively to see what needs the most attention and prioritize accordingly.

Eat, Sleep & Pray

Eat an apple or banana. They provide the healthy sugar your brain needs to function at its best.

Sleep on it. Besides the obvious benefits of a good night’s sleep, research shows that when you sleep, you “turn off” your conscious brain and allow your subconscious to connect information in new ways.

Pray and relax your soul. Seriously, ask God to help you study productively, remember important information, and test well!

Work First, Play Later

When Thanksgiving or Spring Break comes around, it’s easier to push through one or two extra days of homework first and then take the rest of the week off. It’s much harder the other way around.

Writing Papers & Posts

Teach Someone

Teaching someone is proven to be linked to how well an individual retains information. Especially if you’re an external processor, talking with someone about your thesis statement will help you process what you want to say, and then writing it down will be that much easier. Afterwards, be sure to change the vocabulary/style to be academically appropriate.

Outline Your Paper

When reading and researching, keep your paper and discussion post in mind and type up any quotes/notes you might want to use. Go ahead and include the author and page number; this way, when you go to write your paper, a lot of it is already written!

Get A Second Set Of Eyes

When writing your final paper, get a second set of eyes. No matter how good you are, you may have missed a comma splice, misspelling, horrible sentence, or even the paragraph that doesn’t have a link to your thesis statement. Get someone to help you.

P.S. When editing for grammar and spelling, read your paper in reverse. Reading backwards messes up the flow of your paper and helps you catch more errors — it’s what the pros do.

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“My favorite thing about GCD is that we are not just about people learning information. Rather, we attempt to provide sound Biblical teaching that helps people understand more about God, while at the same time helping them use that knowledge in practical ministry experience.”

Experience at GCD.

“I have taken classes as both an undergraduate and in the master’s program, and I have found both of those experiences to be incredibly insightful. I feel better prepared as a pastor through my involvement at GCD.”

There you have it, Pastor Jonathan Fletcher everybody. If you want to learn more about our students here at GCD and want to see more about our students’ lives let us know in the comments below.

https://gcd.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/98deea9eba6c4341a6ad72526b162566-2.jpg800600Grace College of Divinityhttps://gcd.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Website-Header-web-1.pngGrace College of Divinity2016-05-10 14:09:572019-05-19 16:54:50Student Spotlight: Jonathan Fletcher

Grace College of Divinity Missions

Grace College of Divinity is a Bible College located in Fayetteville, NC. Being so close to Ft Bragg military base GCD is passionate about impacting people in different countries. Missions are not sideline projects for GCD, it’s part of who they are. GCD focuses on equipping leaders to change the world and to do that they must develop leaders around the world. The goal of GCD is not to produce people with degrees, but to impact the world by advancing the Kingdom of God and training people to do that.

“Our goal is not to produce graduates but to produce world changers.” -Dr. Steven Crowther Grace College of Divinity President.

GCD has hands in many countries, however they are mainly involved in Brazil, Guyana, and Romania. GCD has two levels to how they do missions.

Level 1:

Send students and faculty to different countries for training leaders through workshops and schools. There they train in leadership, bible, theology, and church planting. This is to help develop local leaders from the country they are in.

Level 2:

Go to help leaders with church planting and church development. They use the concepts of the class Communicating the Relevance of God and orality to evangelize through developing leaders in their own countries and cultures.

GCD on mission trips puts emphasis on building lasting relationships and continuing to develop current relationships. A good example is the Honduras trip from January 2015.

During the Honduras trip the students and leaders from GCD hiked 9 miles up a mountain to share the gospel to a tribe located there. Once the team reached the tribe they started to take pictures. However the people of the tribe were frightened because they had not seen a camera,no outsiders have ever visited the village before. After they put the camera away the people began to come out. They played games, ate candy, and listened to a gospel story. When the team finished sharing the gospel they asked if anyone wanted Christ in their lives and the whole village was saved. Due to the help of the team the first church builiding is now being built on the mountain.

This mission trip and others like it are occurring with GCD students and alumni. Additionally, GCD is actively involved with partner schools, where their goal is to send out leaders into unreached tribes. They are going where many of us cannot go. GCD is training on our campus and training people abroad through online classes and partner schools in order to prepare emerging leaders to change the world.

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MISSION STATEMENT

Grace College of Divinity is a biblical higher education institution dedicated to Preparing Emerging Leaders to Change the World by advancing the Kingdom of God through sound biblical training, practical ministry and personal development.